“Pleasure to me is wonder—the unexplored, the unexpected, the thing that is hidden and the changeless thing that lurks behind superficial mutability. To trace the remote in the immediate; the eternal in the ephemeral; the past in the present; the infinite in the finite; these are to me the springs of delight and beauty.” ~ H.P. Lovecraft

I thought it was "the love of money" was the root of all evil, though.

"We grow up thinking that﻿ beliefs are something to be proud of, but they're really nothing but opinions one refuses to reconsider. Beliefs are﻿ easy. The stronger your beliefs are, the less open you are to growth and wisdom, because "strength of belief" is only the intensity with which you resist questioning yourself. As soon as you are proud of﻿ a belief, as soon as you think it adds something to who you are, then you've made it a part of your ego."

I don't believe eve was evil for eating the apple- it was the act that was evil not her as a person, besides she was the first person to ever be deceived- the serpent told her that God was lying to her and that she would not die if she ate the "apple"- that's really why God was upset I believe, because she didn't have faith in him and trust him especially since he created her and Adam and spent so much time with them- they were actually able to walk with God literally. There were consequences for her actions but God still saught a relationship with both Adam and Eve and they still remained his children. I believe the story is true and that the Bible is true and correct.

Sorry, I got to stick up for my homies,lol.
I know people are joking around but I still gotta say.

I don't believe eve was evil for eating the apple- it was the act that was evil not her as a person, besides she was the first person to ever be deceived- the serpent told her that God was lying to her and that she would not die if she ate the "apple"- that's really why God was upset I believe, because she didn't have faith in him and trust him especially since he created her and Adam and spent so much time with them- they were actually able to walk with God literally. There were consequences for her actions but God still saught a relationship with both Adam and Eve and they still remained his children.

I agree with the last sentence -- in the story, God was still seeking them both out despite knowing what had happened, and it was their fear of him and sense of their own guilt/imperfection that continued the rift between God and people.

It seemed to me that Adam and Eve just found excuses for what they already wanted to do... not that Eve was actually taken in by the serpent figure. She had already been considering disobedience, the serpent was an excuse.

I believe the story is true and that the Bible is true and correct.

Literally true? Despite the obvious mythical symbolism and writing style of the story? or just conceptually true? (just clarifying! )

"Hey Capa -- We're only stardust." ~ "Sunshine"

“Pleasure to me is wonder—the unexplored, the unexpected, the thing that is hidden and the changeless thing that lurks behind superficial mutability. To trace the remote in the immediate; the eternal in the ephemeral; the past in the present; the infinite in the finite; these are to me the springs of delight and beauty.” ~ H.P. Lovecraft

I agree with the last sentence -- in the story, God was still seeking them both out despite knowing what had happened, and it was their fear of him and sense of their own guilt/imperfection that continued the rift between God and people.

It seemed to me that Adam and Eve just found excuses for what they already wanted to do... not that Eve was actually taken in by the serpent figure. She had already been considering disobedience, the serpent was an excuse.

Literally true? Despite the obvious mythical symbolism and writing style of the story? or just conceptually true? (just clarifying! )

I did not mean to seem as though I was excusing her behavior- I don't know if she had any prior plans to eat the fruit or not, I am sure she was tempted and was curious but I'm not sure that she was actively planning on eating it prior to the conversation to the serpent. I do think that that would be a different situation to be deceived for the time in history- and to me the problem was that she gave the serpent more credibility than God-the serpent didn't make her and she still didn't follow God first. And Adam and Eve played the blame game instaed of confessing and owning up and apologizing.

She should have listened to God and not herself or the serpent. You're right- they feared him because they did something wrong and were aware of their nakedness and had knowlede then of Good and Evil. They didn't trust him even though he was loving and good to them and is GOD for crying out loud, and they knew that they wouldhave to face consequences.

God was walking in the Garden of Eden in the cool of the day- which suggests that they were able to talk directly and view him directly- which changed after the fall of man I believe- man could not directly look at God.
The biggest rift between man and God is man's lack of trust and faithfulness in God.

I believe that yes the story is literally true. The writing style is just good story telling. I do believe that things were left out but that it doesn't change the authenticity of the story- like I believe that there were female children not mentioned just because the culture back then did not take into account females hardly at all in geneologies for example. We don't know how old or young Adam and Eve were when they had children- they could have lived for hundreds of years before having them- who knows how many children they did have it doesn't say.We have to understand the culture behind the things written as well I believe. Some things I think people just have to fill in the blanks with common sense.

I think that the Bible is rich in both literal truth and symbolism and sometimes it is one or the other or both. I'm not good at explaining this stuff,lol.
I think that there are times when the Bible is more purely poetic-but the message is true and when taking prohecy into account you have to understand what the symbols mean and that the messages there are also true but not literal in a lot of ways- I really don't know how to properly explain. And I don't know what exactly a lot of things mean- I am still learning the Bible and might not ever know.

The Bible is authentically God inspired to me and especially the Gospels I believe is accurate and real=example Jesus literally rose from the dead, and that understanding context and the times in which it was written is important and understanding the spirit of the law as well as the letter of the law.

I believe that yes the story is literally true. The writing style is just good story telling. I do believe that things were left out but that it doesn't change the authenticity of the story- like I believe that there were female children not mentioned just because the culture back then did not take into account females hardly at all in geneologies for example. We don't know how old or young Adam and Eve were when they had children- they could have lived for hundreds of years before having them- who knows how many children they did have it doesn't say.We have to understand the culture behind the things written as well I believe. Some things I think people just have to fill in the blanks with common sense.

I think that the Bible is rich in both literal truth and symbolism and sometimes it is one or the other or both. I'm not good at explaining this stuff,lol.
I think that there are times when the Bible is more purely poetic-but the message is true and when taking prohecy into account you have to understand what the symbols mean and that the messages there are also true but not literal in a lot of ways- I really don't know how to properly explain. And I don't know what exactly a lot of things mean- I am still learning the Bible and might not ever know.

The Bible is authentically God inspired to me and especially the Gospels I believe is accurate and real=example Jesus literally rose from the dead, and that understanding context and the times in which it was written is important and understanding the spirit of the law as well as the letter of the law.

All right. I was just curious, since you alluded to it, and I wanted to know the frame of reference you were working from. (I know I have alluded to my own opinions elsewhere; it's a free world. ) You don't have to worry about explaining the rest; I am fairly sure I know what you mean. We just have come to some different conclusions about which category certain stories fall into, that's all...

And yes, there are many things we never WILL know. This is mostly about "take your best guess" and be true to what you believe, and be willing to revise if new information comes up...

"Hey Capa -- We're only stardust." ~ "Sunshine"

“Pleasure to me is wonder—the unexplored, the unexpected, the thing that is hidden and the changeless thing that lurks behind superficial mutability. To trace the remote in the immediate; the eternal in the ephemeral; the past in the present; the infinite in the finite; these are to me the springs of delight and beauty.” ~ H.P. Lovecraft